Interfacing cold plates with electronics or electronics components for cooling purposes has been a longstanding problem. For example, in computing systems, it is not uncommon for large amount of heat to be generated during operation of the system. In low power systems, sufficient cooling is often achieved through edge cooling of an electronic component and an associated chassis. However, in many cases, as computing systems have become much more sophisticated and powerful, edge cooling has proven to be an inefficient and insufficient solution. As such, many computing systems now employ a base cooling solution in order to improve thermal performance. Base cooling solutions can result in a greater amount of surface area of the electronic component and chassis being in contact with the cooling plate, which functions as a heat dissipating device or heat sink, and can increase the amount and rate at which the heat can be removed or dissipated away from the electronic component. The larger the surface area in contact with the heat sink or cooling plate the higher the heat transfer efficiency becomes.
Wedge block chains, commonly known as wedgelocks, are devices used within a confined space, wherein the wedgelock provides a thermal interface and is configured to expand and apply a force upon the walls of the confined space to thereby spread the space apart. Wedgelocks may be used in electronic or electronics applications typically employing an edge cooled solution in order to provide an external pressure or force on an integral electronic component, forcing it against a cooling plate. Two opposing wedgelocks are commonly employed to press against an outer surface or frame and to pinch the electronic component and cooling plate between them in order to ensure good thermal contact between the electronic component and the cooling plate. Wedgelocks are particularly desirable for electronics because they can be configured to facilitate tightening along the entire length of the wedge block chain by means of a screw that can be accessed about an end, which allows easy access to what would otherwise be a constrictive working space. Also, by arranging wedgelocks in series one can optimize pressure distribution across an entire surface area to ensure contact between the electronic component and the cooling plate. Although wedgelocks may be employed in a large variety of applications they are particularly useful for providing thermal contact between electronic processing chips and chassis and cooling plates, particularly in applications where there may be multiple electronic components located in series within the confined space.